iPhone 6 repairs are tricky at the best of times, with proprietary software and components from Apple, as well as being small and difficult to get beneath the hood.

Apple is trying to make it impossible for third parties to work on their products, causing a great storm of upset and unrest from dedicated iPhone users around the globe, who are receiving a cryptic and ominous warning: the Error 53 message.

What Is The Error 53 Message?

Not that many people, outside of tech enthusiasts, are aware of the ‘Error 53’ message. This doesn’t change the seriousness of the message, however, which could kill your phone, according to tech journalists.

Error 53 appears to mostly impact handsets where the home button, which features built-in touch ID fingerprint recognition, has been repaired by an unofficial mobile phone repair company. Error 53 has also been reported as affecting customers who have been living with damaged phones.

Error 53 only becomes an issue with an update to iOS 9, even if the phone was repaired months before the upgrade.

Imagine the shock of simply updating your iOS, only to have your phone rendered useless, as precious data and irreplaceable memories – like your music, pictures, movies, and books – are rendered irretrievable.

Representatives from Apple have claimed to be aware of the Error 53 message, and the problems it causes, but have done nothing to address the issue.

It’s no wonder Apple users are so incensed!

According to an Apple spokeswoman, speaking on the reasoning behind Error 53, “We protect fingerprint data using a secure enclave, which is uniquely paired to the touch ID sensor. When iPhone is serviced by an authorised Apple service provider or Apple retail store for changes that affect the touch ID sensor, the pairing is re-validated. This check ensures the device and the iOS features related to touch ID remain secure. Without this unique pairing, a malicious touch ID sensor could be substituted, thereby gaining access to the secure enclave. When iOS detects that the pairing fails, touch ID, including Apple Pay, is disabled so the device remains secure.”

She then when went on to say “When an iPhone is serviced by an unauthorised repair provider, faulty screens or other invalid components that affect the touch ID sensor could cause the check to fail if the pairing cannot be validated. With a subsequent update or restore, additional security checks result in an ‘error 53’ being displayed … If a customer encounters an unrecoverable error 53, we recommend contacting Apple support.”

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